and the city council. i don't think that's the the presidential candidate mitt romney had in mind when he wanted to say states have rights. what about the city's rights to elect their own elected officials? and help do they own? when you say government interference, i understand you were talking about the federal government, but i heard mitt romney say that states' rights, is it the rights of the state's coming into the cities to overthrow the local municipalities? if that's a big government, small government, i don't know, is it controlled government? i think they have a right to control their own destiny in their own city. so the public is on the ballot in november, and i am turning everybody in michigan to vote down. we don't need dictatorship. it is a dictated view. >> host: thanks so much on the mall of the government in relation to the city and its relationship with federal government. and detroit. swb writes the government should do its job and maintain the general welfare. from debate news the numbers are in on how many people watched on television. more than 600 million w

impact of minorities and women on the 2012 presidential and legislative elections. tonight's inaugural event is being held before the first presidential debate between president barack obama and governor mitt romney. tonight's town hall meeting provides us with a unique and strategic opportunity to put our important and crucial minority vote front and center because this is about us, our families, our communities. it's about our future. most of you know that about 35 states have reportedly passed measures that would restrict the right to vote, particularly among black and hispanic voters. probably many of you have heard today the state of pennsylvania struck down. so these measures could far as many as 5 million potential voters in casting your vote on who will lead the country for the next four years. the longer-term effect of this could severely impact how our country moves forward. the impact could be just as significant as the well-known brown v. board of education. the landmark supreme court case in which they declared the state law establishing separate public schools for black a

president obama and mitt romney. you will hear from former presidential hopeful and utah governor john huntsman, former representative bart gordon and weekly standard editor bill kristol. this is hosted by the brookings institution. [inaudible conversations] >> okay. good morning. we would like to get started. vice president of government studies for technology innovation at the brookings institution, and i would like to welcome you to today's event on campaign leaders. we are what casting today's events. it would like to welcome those of you watching via the internet we also have c-span with us today. we will be live tweeting the event using-tag bi leader. any of you who wish to post comments or ask questions during the event, please do so. during the q&a portion we will take questions from our live audience here as well as our virtual audience. the question about leadership has been a big part of the 2012 elections. the presidential candidate conduct offers insight into its leadership style and approach to management. so the questions we will be looking at today is how does the 2012

. goodnight. >> this wednesday president obama and republican presidential candidate mitt romney meet at the university of denver for the first of three debates. watch and engage with c-span spoke to the white house coverage. >> up next we'll bring you another debate with the candidates vying to represent iowa's new fourth congressional district. then rivals in the pharmaceutical industry called for more cooperation in combating counterfeit prescription drugs. and later, live coverage with congressional watchers on congress' record in making its proceedings more open and transparent to the public. >> also today, journalists and communication analysts share their guidance on how best to watch the upcoming presidential debates. they will offer what's called a citizens guide for viewing and understanding the debates that begin later this week. posted by the national communication association, the forum begins at 1 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> when nation's cheat and trade as china's cheat, i will find do something the president has not been willing to do which is called in on the carpet for it an